Even after getting booed off the stage Wednesday night, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz wasn’t about to endorse Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump—at least not yet.
It seems, as he told supporters at a briefing with the Texas delegation Thursday morning, he’s still upset with the way Trump attacked his wife and father during the late stages of their heated primary contest. It became personal, and it negated any other promises or agreements he may have made.
But not everyone in the crowd was having it. One delegate told Cruz he expected the senator to keep his word regarding his pledge to support the eventual nominee. Another said he believed the senator was playing politics and should “just get over it.”
“I’m not going to get into criticizing or attacking Donald Trump, but I’ll just give you this response: I am not in the habit of supporting people that attack my wife and attack my father,” he said. “And that pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack Heidi, that I’m going to nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog and say, ‘Thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father.'”
A majority of the Texas delegation applauded Cruz’ comments.
“I will tell the truth,” he added. “I will not malign, I will not insult, I will not attack—I will tell the truth. This is not a game. It is not politics. Right and wrong matters. We have not abandoned who we are in this country.”
The briefing served as an opportunity to rebuff criticism of Cruz’ speech on Wednesday night in front of the media. It also offered him a chance to try to rebuild some of the damage done to his own political future.
He said he hadn’t ruled out endorsing Trump prior to the election, saying he would be “watching and listening” to see how the Trump campaign conducts itself. He also expanded on his “vote your conscience” statement from the night before.
“When friends of mine, when supporters of mine are asking what to do, the answer I give to everyone is follow your conscience,” he said. “Do what you believe is right. Do what you believe defends your children and defends this country.”
